Booker On Senate Run: ‘That’s My Intention’

Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Sunday continued to teeter the line about whether he will run for the U.S. Senate and potentially challenge incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg to a primary.

“That’s my intention, but it’s over a year away,” Booker said when asked if he’s going to run. “A lot could change between now and then.”

But he didn’t explicitly say he was running.

“I’m not ruling out anything right now but it’s premature to be speculative,” Booker said.

Booker, who filed paperwork this week to officially form a campaign said, that move was more technical.

“You have to file the papers even to do research on the issue,” Booker said.

Booker ruled out running against Republican Gov. Chris Christie for a job in Trenton. Polls showed that a gubernatorial race would have been a steep uphill climb for Booker, but recent polls shows the mayor edging out Lautenberg in a primary faceoff.

The possibility that he could challenge the 88-year-old incumbent has ruffled feathers in some quarters. Booker conceded that he hasn’t spoken with Lautenberg.

“This is really early, we’ve reached out to him. We even had a trip down to speak with him but he wasn’t able to speak,” Booker said.